Sunday, March 6, 2016

Social Insecurity

When I was appointed Conservator, my father's Social Security distributions were being deposited in an account under my protection. For years the funds flowed without incident, until one day a check bounced. Puzzled, I contacted the bank and found it came back because my dad's last monthly payment had not been received.

I saw this as the handiwork of the scammers, and for good reason. A couple of years earlier they had gone online and diverted a couple of my parents' Social Security payments to debit cards and cashed them out. Thankfully, the SSA reimbursed my folks despite not getting the money back themselves.

This time I was wrong. I discovered that the SSA had sent the funds elsewhere at the direction of my father, who found out somehow that he could order them to do it. I was flabbergasted and wondered how this could be, particularly since the agency knew he had been legally declared An Adult With An Impairment. Surely it was a mistake.

Well, it wasn't, and the case worker told me they could not disclose the details of my dad's payments without him being present, which wasn't going to happen. They said I was however welcome to apply to be his Representative Payee, and if appointed they could tell me where the money was going and would send it where I wanted.

I had applied once before, after my folks' payments had been tampered with. With Letters of Conservatorship and mounds of evidence in hand I was confident of success, and to my dismay the application was declined. Perhaps the SSA regarded the diversions as an isolated incident, or maybe my father - a retired salesman - simply talked them out of it. Whatever the reason I was turned down, and though I disagreed with the decision I reckoned there was no harm as long as my dad's payments were still protected.

Since that was no longer true I applied again and was turned down again. So I filed an appeal (called a Request for Reconsideration) and that was declined also. The agency would not explain the repeated denials, other than to say that it was still in my father's best interest to continue receiving his monthly payments.

Not knowing where else to turn I contacted the office of my local congressman, and for the next 18 months they tried to help me overturn SSA's ruling. Though unsuccessful, thanks to an assist from a Special Agent from the Inspector General's office we discovered that my applications were being denied in part because I had not provided any recent evidence that my dad was unable to handle his monthly payments, a virtual impossibility because I had been handling them since being appointed conservator six years earlier. Plus, what the agency really wanted was a letter from his doctor stating that he was incompetent. I approached my father's physician and he declined because he didn't want to be involved.

Disappointed but undeterred, I set about trying to get the recent proof the SSA demanded. I kept digging, and after several failed attempts got a break that enabled me to obtain a court order granting access to the call history for the cell phone my father uses for scam-related communications. With it I was able to determine where my dad's payments were going, and a subsequent court order secured financial records showing how they were being spent.

 As expected the deposits were being routed to a debit card and the proceeds were mostly being withdrawn for cash, often the same day as the funds hit the account. What didn't go to cash went to purchases for the scammers, including laptops, tablets and high-end smart phones without call plans. Plus over $1000 worth of shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops from a retailer who confirmed that the gear had been ordered online from a Jamaican IP address.

Armed with fresh evidence that my father was still in constant contact with the crooks and squandering his monthly payments, I applied a third time to be appointed Representative Payee. Surely they can't turn me down this time, I thought. 

Wrong again.

Incredibly, the SSA claimed my dad still showed a capability to manage his monthly payments, an absurdity in light of the facts past and present. Ridiculous or not that was their position, so it was back to the drawing board. Should I file a lawsuit? Or petition the court for guardianship, which if granted would force the agency to comply with my orders?

Ultimately I decided against both. First, lawyers would be required, and having been down that road before we lacked the resources travel it again. Second, had we the means, a positive outcome was not guaranteed because my father was still able to make sound judgements about his housing, health care and other non-money issues, key considerations in guardianship cases. Besides: Legal action should not have been necessary because the agency now had overwhelming proof that appointing a Representative Payee was justified.

Which left only one option: Taking my case to the media. Thankfully they agreed to help, and when they got involved the SSA quickly reversed their decision, prompting me to wonder what finally tipped the scales in my favor. Was it the negative publicity, or extra political pressure brought to bear by members of Congressional committees with oversight of the agency who were now aware of my struggle? Or some combination of the two? Ultimately it didn't make any difference because all that mattered was the result.

In fairness to the Social Security Administration, everyone I dealt with was courteous and sympathetic. While appreciated I didn't need their courtesy and sympathy: What I needed was for them to do the right thing, and I am sorry that such lengths were necessary to get them to do it. Had they been more diligent and put greater stock in my dad's actions than his words, they would have arrived the correct decision much sooner. Ironically they did not because like my father they were being scammed, by him

Looking back, applying to become Representative Payee should have been if not my first act as conservator, one of the first. Regrettably, at the time I did not know what a Representative Payee was and had not been advised to become one.

All of which leads to the moral of this true story: If you have Power of Attorney or are the conservator for a scam victim, don't make the same mistake I did and apply to the SSA immediately.